We Are Here to Help.

It has been a hard couple of weeks, y’all.  A shooting on the campus of one of our schools is devastating to the entire community.  In addition to responding to that crisis, your W-S/FCS Student Services personnel (counselors, social workers, psychologists and nurses) were also dealing with suicide assessments, threat screenings, and physical and emotional crises (some of these during other school lockdowns) across the District.

Schools are statistically VERY safe places for children but, when school shootings do happen, people start looking for answers.  We all want someone or something to blame.  Gun control and metal detectors are the most common responses.  

Research has not proven that metal detectors – or other “hardening” of schools with security guards and cameras – have any positive effect on school safety.  In fact, there is evidence that metal detectors can make our students FEEL LESS SAFE at school.  Additional research suggests that such measures may actually INCREASE levels of violence in schools.  Please read the research on these practices (nicely summarized here, with links to multiple evidence-based studies).

The National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) recommends addressing a full continuum of services that lead to improved safety, well-being, and learning for ALL children, instead of simply increasing school building safety measures, such as armed security guards, metal detectors, and surveillance cameras.

In the past, I’ve heard Sheriff Bobby Kimbrough make the comment that we have a tendency to “focus on the fruit and ignore the root.”  This continues to resonate with me.  If you want to be a part of the solution, focusing on the “root,” here are some action steps you can take:

1.     Complete training to be a bus driver.  Due to shortages, our students are spending a LOT of unstructured time on buses.  Bus drivers have an incredibly important role in keeping students safe.  I don’t know about you but, at the end of a long day of work, I don’t want to hear that my transportation is not available, and I’ll be picked up after another route is already run.  We can eliminate that stress for students.  Let’s show up for our kids by getting them home safely and efficiently at the end of every day.

 2.     Join your school’s Parent-Teacher Association.  In one school I serve that has an enrollment of about 1,500 high schoolers, the PTSA had only 52 members two weeks ago – and the majority of those members are teachers.  What message is that sending our students? Or our teachers?  Let’s show up for our kids by demonstrating that their education is important enough for us to also take an active role in the school by joining these groups.

3.     Donate to local food banks.  Do you know how many of our students rely on their schools as a primary source of nutrition?  Many of our families struggle with food insecurity.  Food is just one of a child's basic physical needs.  Needs lower down in the hierarchy must be satisfied before individuals can attend to needs higher up, such as relationships, belonging, and a sense of self-esteem and accomplishment.

You can find information on how to donate or host a food drive here.  Let’s show up for our kids by making sure that the basic need of food is being addressed.

4.       Avoid negative language surrounding mental health.  Our students need to know that it’s okay to not be okay.  Model for them by expressing that you may be feeling upset, angry and scared right now.  We should all be feeling that way.  If you need tips on how to talk to your child about violence, you can find those here and here.  Remind children to look for helpers when they are feeling scared. 

Some of us have the coping skills to deal with those big feelings but, if not, it has to be okay for us to get professional help. Let’s show up for our kids by normalizing mental health care and getting help for ourselves and for them when it’s needed.

 6.  Volunteer as a mentor.  Most individual schools have their own mentoring program and you can reach out to them directly for information.  In the community, the City of Winston-Salem has a variety of volunteer opportunities, including Senior Academy.  The local Big Brothers Big Sisters group has options for volunteering time or making donations.  Additional volunteer opportunities can be found on this WSFCS page.  Let’s show up for our kids by serving as a physical presence and positive role model in their lives.

7.  Contact your legislative representatives.  Do you know that there is pending legislation RIGHT NOW on FUNDING for issues such as providing additional mental health resources for all students, supporting the recruitment and retention of school psychologists, and even mandating school-based threat assessment teams to take a proactive approach to help struggling students?  The recommendation for comprehensive service delivery is 1 school psychologist for every 500 students.  I currently serve 3,791, meaning that there should be about 7 of me to fully meet the needs of my students.  (If only cloning were that simple! 😕).  You can also contact our local Forsyth County Board of Education members with your thoughts and concerns.  Let’s show up for our kids by demanding that our State and Local governments provide the resources and policies we need to ensure the social-emotional well-being of ALL our students. 

 8.  Finally, this last one is hard for me to express because I’m still processing the events of the last few days.  If I could make only one request for action, it would be this: model self-regulation.  When adults panic, children panic.  Trust your schools to keep children safe when we are notified of an emergency in our community, just as you trust us every day to transport them to and from school, educate them, feed them and build relationships with them.  I’ve yet to meet a principal, school counselor, custodian, teacher, bus driver, cafeteria worker, school resource office, social worker or any other elementary, middle or high school employee who is in this for the money.  😂😅  We’re here because we choose to do everything we can, every single day, to support the overall well-being of our students.   Let’s show up for our kids by modeling trust, patience, compassion, and support for one another in times of crisis. 

 As always, your W/S-FCS Student Services personnel are here to offer support.  Please don't hesitate to contact us if we can help.  #ItsWhatWeDo